The Client:

Crown is a company specialising in sophisticated plastic moulded parts for all industries. The company's reputation for service excellence and product quality is reflected in an extensive, diverse customer base; it's commitment to quality is to maintain or even surpass customers' requirements for cost, quality, performance and service.

The opportunity:

To assist Crown Plastic Mouldings to achieve the tough automotive global quality standard ISO/TS16949:2002.

Polymer Cluster actions:

Provided the experienced resources of Plastics Consultancy Services to help Crown Plastics with the systems and procedures knowledge to attain the quality standard.

To sharpen skills within the company the Polymer Cluster also sponsored three of the Crown technical team in undertaking moulding setters' training at PTL, the polymer training organisation.

The benefits:

• Crown passed the audit with flying colours
• Crown is now set to win a large slate of further automotive business
• Jobs have been safeguarded and grown and sales are set to increase by least 35%

Key highlights:

Crown decided to embark on a programme to develop their quality system from QS-9000 and upgrade it to meet the ISO/TS16949:2002 standard. This combines the current worldwide requirements of the automotive industry.

During the three day external audit to ISO/TS16949:2002 at the end of last year no non-conformities small or large could be found and Crown achieved the Standard without any need for corrective action. Paul Shipton of Polymer Consultancy Services notes that ""in my experience, a total of zero non-conformities is truly exceptional for any company. Through the development and approval of its management system Crown has demonstrated the high reliability and excellent process capability it can offer to its customers".

Additional outcomes:

The region has an automotive supplier which, thanks to the achievement of the quality standard ISO/TS16949:2002 is now equipped to compete at the highest level. The first Polymer Cluster project with Crown Plastics has safeguarded many existing jobs at the company and contributed to futher positions there.

The Polymer Cluster-supported activity has safeguarded sales of approximately £600,000 - creating an additional £60,000 in revenue - with a further £190,000 predicated as a result.

"The support the Polymer Cluster gave was invaluable; gaining the Standard has enabled us to win future business with a new automotive client and helped to secure current auto clients. The trianing provided by Polymer Cluster through PTL has also proved very helpful in improving ths skills of our technical staff." Neil Botfield, Managing Director, Crown